Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Kim Stich wanted drivers to know something about Kansas’ “structurally deficient” bridges, including the two in Lawrence.
“‘Structurally deficient’ doesn’t mean dangerous,” said Stich, spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Transportation.
A car drives under the northbound bridge near Sixth and Iowa streets Monday afternoon. The Kansas Department of Transportation listed this bridge and 14 others in Douglas County as "structurally deficient".
Two of Douglas County’s lowest-rated structurally deficient bridges are in Lawrence, according to a report from the Kansas Department of Transportation.
Structurally deficient bridges can’t carry heavy loads. Functionally obsolete bridges don’t meet current design standards.
The county has 14 structurally deficient or functionally obsolete bridges, and the state has 514.
Lawrence’s low-rated structures are the northbound and southbound bridges giving access to Interstate Highway 70 near Sixth and Iowa streets. They have sufficiency ratings of about 32 on a scale of 100. The Minneapolis bridge that collapsed earlier this month had a sufficiency rating of 50. Keith Browning, director of the Douglas County public works department, said drivers shouldn’t fear the low ratin g.
“It doesn’t mean that bridge is ready to collapse,” Browning said. “It just means there’s an element of the bridge that needs monitoring or repair.”
KDOT has no plans to re-inspect or upgrade any of those bridges in Douglas County despite questions of bridge safety stemming from the Minneapolis collapse.
“Our bridge inspections are rigorous and our data is current and sound,” Deb Miller, Kansas transportation secretary, said in a statement. “The Kansas bridge system ranks among the best in the country, and I want all travelers to feel safe and confident when they use our highways.”
KDOT, Douglas County and the city share responsibilities for maintaining bridges in Lawrence. Workers inspect bridges every other year, Browning said.
Inspections involve assigning ratings to the deck, superstructure and substructure. The deck is the part of the bridge that cars travel on. The substructure is below the deck, and the superstructure is above it.
Inspectors look for factors such as cracking and deterioration to determine the overall sufficiency rating of the bridge, Browning said. Bridges labeled as functionally obsolete or structurally deficient get replaced or repaired depending on how serious the damages are.
“Whenever something is seen that needs to be done,” Stich said, “we do it. When something needs to be fixed, you want to do it.”
The Douglas County public works department can have several bridge projects going on at any time. Its goal is to replace two bridges a year. The department recently finished rebuilding a bridge over the Kansas River in Lecompton at a price of $2.5 million.
Browning said the disaster in Minneapolis made bridges more of a public issue. But drivers don’t need to worry about driving on the county’s bridges, he said.
“KDOT and us have always done a good job,” Browning said. “Bridges do collapse, and it has to warrant attention. You just can’t take it for granted.”
— Edited by Matt Erickson
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